Government

The City will hold a public meeting to share findings on the Jefferson Parkway and Trunk Highway 246 Intersection Study. The meeting will be held December 21, 2016 from 6 p.m to 8 p.m. at Northfield City Hall Council Chambers 801 Washington Street. A presentation will begin at 6 p.m. with an open house format to follow. If you cannot attend the meeting, but would like to receive input on the study please call the Northfield Engineering office at (507) 645-3020.

Over 100 citizen members annually provide valuable leadership to the City through their participation on these groups and special study committees.

With Thanksgiving approaching, this is a good time for the Northfield area to consider those in the community who have served generously in the area of Human Rights.  Each year, the Northfield Human Rights Commission gives an award to an individual, group, or organization that has contributed to the advancement of human rights.  The award is presented during the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Community Celebration held in January.

The Northfield Human Rights Commission is actively soliciting nominees for this award. Community members are encouraged to think about those in the area who have contributed locally to the cause of human rights.  A diverse slate of nominees is sought. The Northfield Human Rights Commission will evaluate all nominees, and is ultimately responsible for choosing the award recipient.

The City of Northfield Housing & Redevelopment Authority (HRA) in conjunction with Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) is committed to achieving the goal of decent housing and suitable living environments for persons of low and moderate income.   Utilizing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, the HRA will provide matching grants for historic rehabilitation and/or energy efficiency improvements of privately owned rental properties in the Historic Downtown District. 

Northfield has 70 licensed rental units located on the second and third floor of 27 buildings in the downtown historic district that provide affordable housing opportunities and may be in need of renovation or rehabilitation.  The Northfield HRA is utilizing 2016 CDBG Funding to provide an incentive or matching grant program for the following activities:

Monday, October 10, 2016

Monday, October 24, 2016

Here are some links to help you find information about the local races and candidates in the upcoming election. Northfield.org is not responsible for the accuracy of the information included in the external links, and does not endorse any candidate for any office. Candidates are listed alphabetically, incumbents are marked with a *. Please contact us if you have information that you think should be added to this page. 

ELECTION RESULTS (on Tuesday, November 8, 2016)

Official Election Results from the Minnesota Secretary of State

Rice Country Results (including Northfield races) from MPR News

Several newspapers are offering unlimited free access to their websites on Tuesday and Wednesday, including the Northfield News, New York Times, and Washington Post. 

An extensive list of ways to watch live election results online (from Variety).

The Candidates

• Northfield Mayor: Dana Graham*, Rhonda Pownell
• City Council At Large: Greg Colby, Brad Ness
• City Council Ward 2: David DeLong*, Jack Hoschouer
• School Board: Tom Baraniak, Fritz Bogott*, Amy Goerwitz, Rob Hardy*, Ellen Iverson*, Noel Stratmoen*
• State House: David Bly (DFL)*, Aramis Wells (R)
• State Senate: Kevin Dahle (DFL)*, Rich Draheim (R)
• U.S. House of Representatives (2nd Congressional District): Angie Craig (D), Jason Lewis (R)
  

On Saturday, October 22, candidates for mayor and for city council have been invited to participate in a forum at the Northfield Community Action Center/Northfield Senior Center. At 9:00 a.m, candidates for mayor will appear. Candidates for city council will appear at 10:30. This is an opportunity for voters to hear short introductory comments by each candidate, and to submit questions for the candidates' responses. 

On November 2nd at 7pm, mayoral candidates Dana Graham and Rhonda Pownell will engage in a debate about their respective policy positions and visions for Northfield's future.

Videos of the October 18 Candidate Forums sponsored by the Northfield/Cannnon Falls League of Women Voters may be seen on the LWV website:  http://lwvnorthfieldmn.org

The candidats for Minnesota House of Representatives, Districts 20B and 58B and those for the Northfield Board of Education spoke and answered audience questions at the Northfield Community Resource Center. 

The City of Northfield Public Works Director/City Engineer David Benett talks about the bumpouts located on 5th and Washington Streets.

 http://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/CivicMedia?VID=Temp-Bumpouts-at-5th-and-Washington-Stre-105.

"Using, Misusing, and Ignoring Political Information" was the subject of the September 24, 2016 meeting of the Northfield-Cannon Falls League of Women Voters. In our media rich culture, St Olaf Political Science Professor Chris Chap's talk is very timely, covering such topics as:  (1) How trust in a source influences the uptake of information, (2) How individuals' prior attitudes influence political learning, (3) How misinformation is received and processed by voters, and (4) How ambiguous messages are understood by voters. 

The video of this presentation may be seen at: 

http://lwvnorthfieldmn.org/blog/?story_id=258283

The City of Northfield's Communications and Human Resources Manager Michelle Mahowald announces that Mayor Dana Graham talks about the efforts of many during the recent flood event in his latest short video.

http://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/CivicMedia?VID=Minute-with-the-MayorOct-5-2016-104